Quenching press with work handling mechanism



Feb. 24, 1959 Filed March 18, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. EARL D. DAMMERT ATTORNEY Feb. 24, 1959 E. D. DAMMERT QUENCHING PRESSMWITH WORK HANDLING MECHANISM! Filed March 18, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR. EARL D. DAMMERT ATTORNEY FIG3 Feb. 24, 1959 E. D. DAMMERT 2,8 ,8

QUENCHING PRESS WITH WORK HANDLING MECHANISM V Filed March 18, 1955 I I FIG.5

IN V EN TOR. EARL D. DAMMERT ATTORNEY 3 Shgets-Sheet 5 Unite-rd Statfis 3 6M? PRESS WITH WORK HANDLING MECHANISM r Earl I). Daprmerhlfehfig ld, Y., ,assignor. to {The Glea- 1. W ks B shesten X a c r o o f New Ydrk j 6 Application March s, 1955, Serial No. 495,231 Wh msl-2M Q H G of reloading the, press. and; restarting its operating cycle Th yel, featulr Gill e-invention which are defined b appended. claims, will'bel understood. tram the h g deseriptionof. the preferredeinbodiment shown in. the. accompanying drawings, wherein;

s-i nd: e ct e a t a l at a d id -e e ation p t in $9 f a p es equ p e with the unloaden i r Fig. 3fis. auertical sectional. yiew through, the unloader, in, the plane. designated, 3P3 in Big, 2;.

Fig.1 4,. is a. detail horizontal; section. in o the plane Figs. 5, and 6 are respectively awiring diagram anda:

diagram, oi an air... andhydraulio system {or ithe unloader.

an e qu nc in p e some p s s ra e .0 on hisk-snail; sup mounted sa-a s eal n bet-ween wo ta i n which t e n- PPI? i lgp ears inrf nll lines, and a. loading station in which t; pea n ken. ines at 1 The; w rk. pp is cattied by a pair of, links 12 which are pivoted to thC'.

frame at lliaiid to. the snpport'at- 174, andby, guide: rollers IQ-whichMr-ideinarcuateguideways 16. on:the;.frame. On.

thesnpportis mounted a multi-part. lower die17' for seat ns; the-workpiecew inihis case-wa bevel. ring: gear. The links 12 are. oscillated about: PiVOtSfllfi}. to carry the work support between itsworlr stationand: loadinggstation, by

to one link 12 by a pitmanllghthe. connectionxbetween the Pitman and the link comprising a pivotrpini22'. The

crank is. rotated by a; motor and" reductionigear unit 23';

Alsqsupported on the frame 110.. is a; cylinder 24 inwhicha piston .25 isireciprocable, theipiston beingia' paruf of a ram 2 6, -to which is securedaaI-Inultij-part:upper' die 27,; The rams which is.raisedz.and loweredlby. fluid pressureappliedto thabnttomanditop of theipis'ton, isaaligned with-111e, work. support" 11; when the latteri is at. its work ation; .Themam: is lowered to clamp'raworkpiecebe tween; the upper," and; lower dies.

atworkp'iece. while the latteris so clamped! r The: press; further includes 1 control: means for operating l the motor of unit 23, for applying fluid pressure to the piston 25, raising and, lowering the-rain 26', and for coutrolling. theflow of; quench. fluid. These control means;

which,preferably= are: oil-the type disclosed inafore-mentionedRatentNo; 2,494,984; are not a part ofjthe present invention, and: hence they. are not illustrated herein.

The; unloaden of the lpresent inventioncomprises an arm. 28'; supported r oils "a cylindrical can 29 for swinging The. press includes" means; not shown, for causing azflow of quench'fluidover ICC motion thereabout in a horizontal plane, and also for limited vertical sliding motion thereon. t, 3

A plurality .of work-gripping jaws 32 are pivoted by pins 33 to the distal endof the arm. The innerends of the jaws are bifurcated to straddle a collar 34 on a piston rod 35 which is urged downwardly relative to the arm by a spring 36. Cam 29 is slidable in a stationary support in the form of a U-shaped bracket 31 that is rigidly secured to the frame. APlSIOIl 3 7, reciprocable in a cylin der .38 provided in the arm, isadapted to move the rod 35 upwardly against the resistance of spring 36. The arrangement is such that when fluid pressure is applied through conduit 39 to thebottom chamber of the cylinder the piston 37 is raised against the resistance of spring 36: to close the jaws 32 for causing them to: grasp awork piece. When this fluid pressure is released the spring. lowers, the rod 35 and thereby opens the jaws, releasing the workpiece. t j g Secured to thegupper flange of U-shaped bracket 31' is the lower flange of a tube 41, the latter supportinga key 42 that is seated in a longitudinal keyway in a sleeve: 43 which is slidable in a bushing 44 in the upper flange of the bracket. The cylindrical cam 29 is slidable vertically in the sleeve; but is held; against rotation relative thereto by a key 45 which projects from the sleeve into alongitudinal keyway' in the cam. The arm 28 is rotatable relative to the sleeve, andis; connected thereto for vertical motion by-a ring-shaped gib 46 which confines an annular flange formed on the lower end of. the'sleeve" 43. The cam hasa helical cam groove formation 47 in which rides a cam follower roller 48 that is. j'ournaied on anti-friction bearings 49 in the arm 28. The cam and roller togetherconstitute a screw connection between the member 29' and: the armmember 28, which screw connection is of a sufficiently large lead anglethat relative rectilinear motion between these members: will effect a. relative swinging or angular motion betweenthemi.

For effecting vertical motion "of cam-29' ther'eiis provided a piston 51 that is reciprocable vertically: in acyl'-: inder 52 supported upon the tube 41-, the piston being;

connected to part 29 by a piston rod'53t For the purpose of constantly urging the sleeve 43 and arm 28 upwardly relative-to cam. 29 a coiled spring 54 isprovided. This spring extends intoabore in the upper end of cam 29 and" is. compressed between thelatter and a plug 55" which is screw-threaded tostheupper end of. sleeve 43:

Swinging of the arm 28 in a counterclockwise direction (inFigs4) is limited by: the arm? abutting a stop plate56 on: the bracket 31. In'the limit position of the arm-the. jawss32; are vertically aligned. with a workpiece on the support 11 at the loading station; Swinging of.

the arm in the opposite direction, to its broken. linejp'osition28' in Figs. 1 and 4, islimited by a stop" button 57 on the bracket. In this limit position the arm also abuts the actuating stem ofi'a normally closed lirnit switch 58 that is mounted'on the bracket, thereby opening the switch. Downward'motion of the cam 29 is limited by abutment of a stop 59 on its lower end with a plug 61 that islsecured to the bottom of a tubularpart 62 which depends fromlthe lower flange of bracket 31. As shown; a bushing 63 slidab1y' engagedby the cam 29 is supported by this tubularpart 62". Whenin its lower limit position shownin Fig. 3, a shoulder 64 onthe arm 28 abuts a roller 65 onthe actuating arm of a normally open limit switch 66 supported on-the bracket, and therebycloses this Switch.

Other apparatus for controlling the unloading mech: anism is shown diagrammaticallyin Figs; 5 and Si It comprises a conduit 67leading from a sources of CQIIk. pressed air to a two-position solenoid-and-spring operated valve 68 and"liaving* a branch leading to another sole= 58 is open.

noid-and-spring operated valve 69, a conduit 71 extending between valve 68 and the upper end of a tank 72 containing air and hydraulic fluid, and a conduit 73 ex tending from the lower end of the tank to the lower end of cylinder 52, this conduit containing a metering valve 74. I J

The control apparatus further comprises an air conduit 75 extending between the upper end of cylinder 52 andvalve 68, an air-and-spring actuated switch 76 connected to the air conduit 39 which extends between the valve 69 and the bottom of cylinder 38, and an air bleed valve 77 in airline 39 upstream from valve 76. Valve 76 is of a conventional type having a movable contact 76' which is held by a spring in its full line position in Fig. 5 and is moved to its broken line position when the air pressure applied to the switch unit reaches a predetermined value. Valve 68 is normally held by its spring in the position shown in Fig. 6 wherein conduits 67 and 71 are in communication and conduit 75 is open to the atmosphere, but when its solenoid 68 is energized it is shifted to vent conduit 71 to the atmosphere and place conduit 67 in communication with conduit 75. Valve 69 is also normally held by its spring in the position shown in Fig. 6 wherein it vents conduit 39 to the atmosphere, and when its solenoid 69' is energized it is shifted to connect conduit 39 to air pressure conduit 67. 1

The control apparatus still further includes a normally open limit switch 78which is controlled by the, ram 26, beingclosed only whenthe latter is lowered; a normally open limit switch 79 which is controlled by work support 11 f the press, being closed only when the support is in its loading position 11, Fig. 2; a relay having a winding 81 and a movable contact 82 which is closed only when the winding is energized; and a relay having windings 82 and 83 and a movable contact 82'. The latter contact is closed upon energization'of'winding 82, opened upon energization of winding '83.

The electrical apparatus described is connected in the circuit arrangement shown in Fig. across leads L and 1. which extend to a suitable source of electrical energy.

In the idle condition of the press the ram 26 is raised andthe unloader arm is raised and in its unloading position 28'. Accordingly switch 79 is closed and switch Solenoids 68'- and 69' are deenergized and hence the fluid control system is in the condition shown in Fig. 6, wherein piston51 is held raised by hydraulic fluid from tank 72 which is being subjected to air pressurefrom source S, and wherein conduit 39 is opened to the atmosphere so that spring 36 holds jaws 32 open.

In this position of the loader arm the upper end of sleeve 43 is in abutment with the bottom surface 84 of the cylinder assembly 52 and the spring 54 is compressed by the cam 29 being raised relative to the sleeve as compared with the position shown in Fig. 3.

In operation, the press operator loads a heated workpiece W on the lower die 17 and presses astart switch to cause the press to operate through its normal cycle described hereinbefore, during which the motor unit 23 turns the crank 18 through 180 to thereby move the work support 11 into its work position. This allows switch 79 to open. The ram 26 lowers, closing switch 78 and thereby energizing relay winding 82. This causes contact 82' to close, which however has no immediate effect since switch 79 is open. The quenching operation takes place, and the ram 26 is then raised, allowing switch 78 to open and so deenergizing winding 82, and the work support moves out to its loading position 11'. This closes switch 79 and thereby establishes a circuit from L to L through pressure switch contact 76 (in its full line position in Fig. 5), now closed relay contact 82' and solenoid 68'.

When solenoid 68' is thus energized it moves valve 68 to vent. conduit 71 to the atmosphere and connects conduit 75 to pressure line 67. Hence air pressure is i 59 abuts plug 61.

applied to the upper side of piston 51, lowering it as rapidly as hydraulic fluid can be displaced through metering valve 74 into tank 72. During the first part of the down-motion of the piston and cam 29, the compressed spring 54 holds the sleeve 43 and arm 28 in their raised position where the sleeve abuts surface 84 of the bottom head of cylinder 52. Since keys 42 and 45 prevent any rotation of the cam 29, the helical-cam groove .47 and follower roller 48 coact during the initial down-motion of the cam to swing the arm 28 to its full line position in Figs. 1 and 4, wherein ,the jaws 32' are aligned vertically with the workpiece. As soon as the arm starts to swing away from stop 57 the switch 58 resumes its normal closed position. When the swing motion is arrested by the abutment of the arm with stop plate 56, the arm 28 and sleeve 43 are forced to move as a unit with the piston 51 and cam 29 during the continued down-motion of the latter which terminates when stop At this time the jaws 32 encircle the workpiece as shown in Fig. 3, and the switch 66 is closed; j f

' Closing of switch 66 establishes a circuit from L to 1. through now closed switch 58 and relay winding 81 and, by reason of cross-connection 85, also a circuit through valve solenoid '69; The results are that relay contact 81 is closed and valve 69 is moved to connect conduit 39 to pressure' line 67. This causes the piston 37 to be moved upwardly'against' the resistance of spring 36, thereby closing the jaws 32 upon the workpiece.

With a very slight'delay,'due to the restriction of bleed valve 77, the airpressure shifts contact 76' of valve 76 toits dotted line position in Fig. 5. Thisope'ns the circuit through solenoid 68, resulting in valve 68 returning to theposition thereof shown in Fig. 6, and closes As the piston 51 and c'amrnember 29 move upwar ly...

the spring 54, by urging upward motion of the sleeve 43 and arm 28 relative to the sleeve, acts through the,

cam and cam follower connection 47, 48, to hold the arm against stop plate 56. Accordingly' the arm moves upwardly as a 'unit with the piston and cam untilthe sleeve abuts surface 84. At this time the arm, carrying the workpiece in its now closed jaws 32, is in the position shown in full lines in Fig. 1. Continued upward motion of the piston compresses spring 54 and, by relative vertical motion between the cam and cam follower roller, swings the arm clockwise in Fig. 4 to the broken line position 28 in Figs. 1 and 4.

At the initiation of the upward motion of arm '28 the normally open switch 66 is allowed to open; but this has no immediate eifectsince the now closed contact 81 maintains the circuit through relay winding 81 and solenoid 69'. .However when arm 28 abuts stop 57 it also opens normally closed switch 58, thereby deenergizing both winding 81 and solenoid 69'.

phere. Accordinglyspring 36 opens jaws 32 andthe workpiece drops, preferably into a t-ote box or conveyor,

not shown, at the left side of the press (in Fig; 1), and 1 way of example and illustration of the inventive principle involved, and not byway of limitation, .andthatthese This opens relay contact 81' and also allows valve 69 to cut off con-' duit 39 from the pressure line 67 and ventit to the atmos It will' be understood further that the foregoing disclosure of the preferred embodiment of the invention is made by' principles may be incorporated in other physical forms without departing from the spirit of the invention or from the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A quenching press for gears and the like, comprising a frame, a work support for holding a workpiece at a loading station, a workpiece-carrying arm mounted on the frame for swinging motion about a substantially vertical axis, to carry a workpiece from said loading station to an unloading station, and also for reciprocation along said axis, and an actuating mechanism comprising a piston that is reciprocable relative to the frame along said axis and non-rotatable about said axis, said piston having a screw connection of large lead angle to said arm whereby upon relative axial motion of the piston and arm the latter will be swung about said axis, resilient means for resisting vertical motion of the arm relative to the piston, and means for limiting the vertical travel of the arm relative to the frame, whereby upon downward motion of the piston the arm will first be rotated about said axis from the unloading station to the loading station and then moved downwardly as a unit with the piston, and upon upward motion of the piston the arm will first move upwardly as a unit therewith and then will be rotated from the loading station to the unloading station.

2. A quenching press according to claim 1 in which there is a ram mounted for vertical reciprocation on the frame, the work support is movable on the frame to carry a workpiece thereon between the loading station and a work station wherein it is in alignment with the ram, and there is a means for operating said actuating mechanism in response to the movement of the work support which brings a quenched workpiece to said loading station subsequent to operation of the ram.

3. A quenching press for gears and the like comprising a frame, a ram mounted for vertical reciprocation on the frame, a work support movable on the frame to carry a workpiece thereon between a loading station and a work station wherein it is in alignment with the ram, a work handling arm mounted on the frame for swinging motion about an upright axis to carry a workpiece between the loading station and an unloading station and also for vertical motion to cause the arm to engage the workpiece on the support and to lift it therefrom, an armactuating piston reciprocable relative to the frame along said upright axis, a helical cam and cam follower of which one is on the piston and the other on the arm, the helix axis of the cam being coincident with said upright axis, resilient means for resisting vertical motion of the arm relative to the piston, and means for limiting the travel of the arm relative to the frame.

4. A work handling device comprising a stationary support, a member reciprocable thereon, an arm mounted on said member to swing thereabout in a plane perpendicular to the direction in which the member is recip rocable and also to move on the member in said direction, cooperating cam and cam follower means on the arm and the member for effecting said swinging motion in response to their relative motion in said direction, resilient means acting between the arm and member to resist such relative motion between them, and means for limiting motion of the arm relative to the support in said direction.

5. A work handling device comprising a stationary support having a cylinder, a piston reciprocable in the cylinder, a cylindrical cam movable with the piston and having a helical cam formation, an arm mounted on the cylindrical cam for swinging motion thereabout in a plane perpendicular to the direction of motion of the piston and also for movement thereon in said direction, a cam follower on the arm engaging said cam formation for effecting swinging motion of the arm upon relative motion of the cam and arm in said direction, resilientmeans acting between the arm and cam for resisting such relative motion, and stop means for limiting motion of the arm relative to said support, whereby during a part of the stroke of the piston the arm will move as a unit with the cam and during another part of the stroke will swing relative to the support.

6. A work handling device comprising a stationary support, a member reciprocable thereon, an arm having a screw connection with the member, with the screw axis extending in the direction of reciprocation of the member, whereby upon motion of the member in said direction relative to the arm the latter will be swung about said axis, a spring acting between the member and arm for resiliently holding them in one limit position of such relative motion, and stop means to limit motion of the arm relative to the support, whereby during one stroke of the reciprocation of said member the arm first moves angularly and then rectilinearly, and upon the opposite stroke of said member has a return rectilinear motion and then a return angular motion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,231,092 Suhm June 26, 1917 2,253,283 Minaker Aug. 19, 1941 2,394,552 Kelly, Feb. 12, 1946 2,494,984 Bauer Ian. 17, 1950 

